1 Malaysia Song From AMP All Stars

Unisel Winning Best Concrete Canoe' on JPS Concrete Canoe' Competition 2007

Best Concrete Canoe’ - JPS Concrete Canoe’ Competition 2007 with weight less than 60kg.

Unisel Winning Second Place on Malaysia SiswaSAT Competiton 2008

Second edition of Malaysia SiswaSat Program had been successfully completed on December 2008 with the end of final lauching which took place on 16-18 December 2008 at International Islamic Unversity Malaysia, IIUM, Gombak, Selangor. The participated universities are Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Islamic International University of Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM), Universiti Industri Selangor (UNISEL), Multimedia University (MMU), Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UNIKL).

Winners

1st Place : Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
2nd Place : Universiti Industri Selangor (UNISEL)
3rd Place : Islamic International University of Malaysia (IIUM)
Best CanSat Design : Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM)
Best Mission : Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
Best Team : Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UNIKL)

Unisel Winning First Place on Malaysia SiswaSAT Competiton 2007

First edition of Malaysia SiswaSat Program had been successfully completed on January 2008 with the end of final demonstration which took place on 31st January 2008 at National Space Center, Banting, Selangor. For this pilot project , invitation had been addressed to 10 universities around Klang Valley; public and private universities and 8 of them had responded positively to participate on this activity. The participated universities are Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Islamic International University of Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Industri Selangor (UNISEL), Multimedia University (MMU), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) and Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UNIKL).

Winners

1st Place : Universiti Industri Selangor (UNiSSAT V.1) UNiSSAT V.1 mission are to capture, process, store and transmit multiple images which fully operated under supervision of Launch Control Officer (LCO). The main payload of the UNiSSAT V.1 is a CMOS digital camera with other additional sensors such as temperature, pressure sensor and GPS. Below are the images that successfully been captured by UNiSSAT V.

2nd Place : Multimedia University (MMUSat)The main objective of MMUSat is to show that the design of a small inexpensive data telemetry system is possible and could be a platform for the future design and implementation of earth orbiting spacecrafts. The system will have both receiving and transmitting capabilities and will be incorporated with an accelerometer, a light intensity sensor, a temperature and humidity sensor, a Global Positioning System and a wireless video camera.Primary mission of MMUSat is to act as a weather monitoring system where all the sensors used will be able to gather the information about the weather condition of the area where the satellite is descending. Meanwhile the secondary mission of MMUSat would be to act as an imaging and navigation satellite. The camera will provide continuous video streaming of the surrounding area where the satellite is deployed while the GPS will act as a navigational tool.

3rd Place : Islamic International University of Malaysia
Best CanSat Design : Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia

Unisel Winning Second Runner Up on Perodua Eco-Challenge 2009

More recently, UNISEL participated in the Perodua Eco-Challenge. which was held last month June 18-20th. A team of 12 students (nine from the Engineering programme and three from Automotive Design) — lead by Associate Professor Ir Muhidin Arifin and seven staff members — was placed third in the Manual Transmission category of the recent Perodua competition.Race.

Malaysian car manufacturer Perodua (Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd) had arranged for a modified Myvi 1.3 SE car rally at the Speedway PLUS Circuit in Subang Jaya to encourage the development of cars with less pollution and emissions, in line with the country’s strategy to be an ecologically sustainable environment.The event was to create public awareness of the need to reduce the environmental impact of exhaust emissions through focused driving in a fuel-efficient vehicle. “It was an opportunity to test whether or not students could respond to local industry’s challenge to reduce the impact of emissions and to improve petrol consumption.”

Selected students at local universities competed in the car rally after modifying a Myvi 1.3 SE. Based on submitted modification proposals, twelve 12 universities, which included UiTM Universiti Teknologi Mara and UNITEN Universiti Tenaga Nasional, were selected out of a total of 21 participating universities learning institutions.The chosen universities, which also included UNISEL, had each received a development funding of RM10,000 with a Perodua Myvi 1.3 SE car to be modified. Each university proposed different solutions.

“It was an opportunity for students to work with a real product; it was multidimensional and multidisciplinary.”

The UNISEL’s team also received RM5,000 for achieving a fuel efficiency of 23.6km per litre of Petronas Ron 97 gasoline after modifications to the Perodua Myvi. And this included a reduction in the mass and height of the car.

“For weight reduction, materials used were different from the traditional metals.

“A height reduction for safe driving was made to facilitate the taking of corners.”

There were modifications to its cold air intake, to its fuel magnet, air fuel controller, firing and ignition system, customised fuel tank, nitrogen gas tires tyres, aluminum crank pulley and to the vehicle’s voltage stabiliser.

“They controlled the car engine’s air intake and made its ignition more efficient to improve the car’s combustion.” These modifications were attained at an additional outlay of RM20,000.

“We were given a tight budget and a fixed schedule to complete the changes. It is experiential learning and we like to have more of this methodology and approach.”

Unisel Winning First Place on The Formula Varsity 2009

SHAH ALAM, 28 Julai - Universiti Industri Selangor (UNISEL) buat julung kalinya melakar sejarah bergelar juara dalam pertandingan Formula Varsity Race 2009 yang berlangsung pada 25 Julai lalu, di Litar Dato’ Sagor, Pasir Salak, Perak.

Pertandingan anjuran Pertubuhan Pelajar-pelajar Kejuruteraan Mekanikal (MESA), memberi kemenangan besar kepada Unisel dan menjadi titik permulaan untuk meneroka lebih jauh dalam penghasilan kenderaan otomotif.

Timbalan Naib Canselor Akademik Unisel, Profesor Dr Anuar Ahmad berkata, pertandingan ini secara tidak langsung memberi peluang kepada pelajar dan pensyarah menghasilkan rekaan yang inovatif.

“Kesemua department sivil, mekanikal dan elektrikal telah membuktikan keupayaan mereka untuk memenangi bukan sahaja di peringkat antarabangsa, sekaligus merealisasikan cita-cita Unisel untuk menjadi sebuah universiti terkemuka di rantau,” katanya.

Dr Anuar berkata demikian dalam sidang media di kampus Shah Alam Seksyen 7, hari ini.
Katanya, menerusi pertandingan ini, pelajar didedahkan dengan kaedah pembuatan struktur kenderaan, modifikasi enjin, pembentukan badan kenderaan, tahap kecekapan dan kelajuan enjin, secara berkumpulan.

Sementara itu, Dekan Fakulti Kejuruteraan, Profesor Ir Dr Jamaludin Mat berkata, kemenangan ini membuktikan kejayaan Unisel dan kerjasama mantap tenaga pengajar dan pelajar.

“Kami sebenarnya rasa tertekan, masa kami sampai, sebab apa kita rasa tak bersedia dari serba-serbi, team lain adalah kali ketiga, dan kami harus bersaing dengan mereka yang telah hebat, namun kejayaan ini membuktikan kerjasama penting dalam kumpulan,” katanya.

Kereta lumba yang dinamakan ‘UNISEL V-1’ ini menggunakan enjin Modenas Kriss 110cc yang telah diubahsuai mengikut kapasiti, struktur, panjang dan berat kereta serta diperbuat daripada bahan besi ringan dan komposit.

Bertemakan Educational Innovation of Motorsports and Automotive Race atau EIMA-Race 2009, pertandingan ini disertai 9 institusi pendidikan antaranya, Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, Institut Kemahiran MARA Lumut, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia dan Universiti Tun Hussein Onn.

Dalam pada itu, peserta-peserta yang ditemui teruja dengan kemenangan ini dan menganggap ia suatu yang membanggakan kerana penyediaan hanya dilakukan dalam tempoh sebulan.

Pemandu UNISEL V-1 Endurannce, Izwan Merican Ibrahim Merican berkata, pertandingan ini membuka peluang kepada semua pelajar daripada Universiti swasta atau awam, dan ia sebagai pengukur kepada pelajar dan pensyarah bekerjasama, ia sepatutnya diadakan lebih kerap,” katanya.

“Ini merupakan satu peluang kepada semua pelajar Unisel mempelajari dari pelajar luar, bersaing daripada mereka yang lebih berpengalaman kerana aspek ini penting dalam perlumbaan ni, ia sangat berbaloi kerana rekaan kereta hanya sebulan, namun penat berbayar,” kata Shafiq Idwan Rusli.Bagi Muhammad Syahril Yazmin Dzapri pula, walaupun pertama kali menyertai pertandingan ini, namun mendapat kemenangan yang bergaya dan paling penting dengan sokongan kumpulan serta kondisi kenderaan itu berjaya mengekalkan prestasi enjin,” katanya.

Di samping itu, Pengurus Pasukan, Profesor Madya Ir Muhidin Arifin berkata, UNISEL V-1 ini hanyalah satu permulaan dan dan satu lagi model V-2 akan dihasilkan untuk pertandingan akan datang.

“ Kami akan memperbaiki formula V-1, buat satu lagi model V-2, dan buat masa ini kami dah ada model tersebut, V-2 ini adalah sebagai peningkatan daripada V-1,” katanya.-ATIQAH YAACOB (TVSELANGOR)

Salam Aidilfitri

Salam Aidilfitri to all student,lecturer and staff Faculty of Engineering Unisel from GMK ...

Electrical Engineering

Thermology

Electrical engineering, sometimes referred to as electrical and electronic engineering, is a field of engineering that deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical power supply. It now covers a range of subtopics including power, electronics, control systems, signal processing and telecommunications.

Electrical engineering may or may not include electronic engineering. Where a distinction is made, usually outside of the United States, electrical engineering is considered to deal with the problems associated with large-scale electrical systems such as power transmission and motor control, whereas electronic engineering deals with the study of small-scale electronic systems including computers and integrated circuits.Alternatively, electrical engineers are usually concerned with using electricity to transmit energy, while electronic engineers are concerned with using electricity to transmit information.

History

Electricity has been a subject of scientific interest since at least the early 17th century. The first electrical engineer was probably William Gilbert who designed the versorium: a device that detected the presence of statically charged objects. He was also the first to draw a clear distinction between magnetism and static electricity and is credited with establishing the term electricity.In 1775 Alessandro Volta's scientific experimentations devised the electrophorus, a device that produced a static electric charge, and by 1800 Volta developed the voltaic pile, a forerunner of the electric battery.

However, it was not until the 19th century that research into the subject started to intensify. Notable developments in this century include the work of Georg Ohm, who in 1827 quantified the relationship between the electric current and potential difference in a conductor, Michael Faraday, the discoverer of electromagnetic induction in 1831, and James Clerk Maxwell, who in 1873 published a unified theory of electricity and magnetism in his treatise Electricity and Magnetism.

During these years, the study of electricity was largely considered to be a subfield of physics. It was not until the late 19th century that universities started to offer degrees in electrical engineering. The Darmstadt University of Technology founded the first chair and the first faculty of electrical engineering worldwide in 1882. In the same year, under Professor Charles Cross, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology began offering the first option of Electrical Engineering within a physics department.In 1883 Darmstadt University of Technology and Cornell University introduced the world's first courses of study in electrical engineering, and in 1885 the University College London founded the first chair of electrical engineering in the United Kingdom.The University of Missouri subsequently established the first department of electrical engineering in the United States in 1886.

During this period, the work concerning electrical engineering increased dramatically. In 1882, Edison switched on the world's first large-scale electrical supply network that provided 110 volts direct current to fifty-nine customers in lower Manhattan. In 1884 Sir Charles Parsons invented the steam turbine which today generates about 80 percent of the electric power in the world using a variety of heat sources. In 1887, Nikola Tesla filed a number of patents related to a competing form of power distribution known as alternating current. In the following years a bitter rivalry between Tesla and Edison, known as the "War of Currents", took place over the preferred method of distribution. AC eventually replaced DC for generation and power distribution, enormously extending the range and improving the safety and efficiency of power distribution.

The efforts of the two did much to further electrical engineering—Tesla's work on induction motors and polyphase systems influenced the field for years to come, while Edison's work on telegraphy and his development of the stock ticker proved lucrative for his company, which ultimately became General Electric. However, by the end of the 19th century, other key figures in the progress of electrical engineering were beginning to emerge.

Modern developments

During the development of radio, many scientists and inventors contributed to radio technology and electronics. In his classic UHF experiments of 1888, Heinrich Hertz transmitted (via a spark-gap transmitter) and detected radio waves using electrical equipment. In 1895, Nikola Tesla was able to detect signals from the transmissions of his New York lab at West Point (a distance of 80.4 km / 49.95 miles).In 1897, Karl Ferdinand Braun introduced the cathode ray tube as part of an oscilloscope, a crucial enabling technology for electronic television.John Fleming invented the first radio tube, the diode, in 1904. Two years later, Robert von Lieben and Lee De Forest independently developed the amplifier tube, called the triode.In 1895, Guglielmo Marconi furthered the art of hertzian wireless methods. Early on, he sent wireless signals over a distance of one and a half miles. In December 1901, he sent wireless waves that were not affected by the curvature of the Earth. Marconi later transmitted the wireless signals across the Atlantic between Poldhu, Cornwall, and St. John's, Newfoundland, a distance of 2,100 miles (3,400 km).In 1920 Albert Hull developed the magnetron which would eventually lead to the development of the microwave oven in 1946 by Percy Spencer.In 1934 the British military began to make strides toward radar (which also uses the magnetron) under the direction of Dr Wimperis, culminating in the operation of the first radar station at Bawdsey in August 1936.

In 1941 Konrad Zuse presented the Z3, the world's first fully functional and programmable computer.In 1946 the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) of John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly followed, beginning the computing era. The arithmetic performance of these machines allowed engineers to develop completely new technologies and achieve new objectives, including the Apollo missions and the NASA moon landing.

The invention of the transistor in 1947 by William B. Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain opened the door for more compact devices and led to the development of the integrated circuit in 1958 by Jack Kilby and independently in 1959 by Robert Noyce.Starting in 1968, Ted Hoff and a team at Intel invented the first commercial microprocessor, which presaged the personal computer. The Intel 4004 was a 4-bit processor released in 1971, but in 1973 the Intel 8080, an 8-bit processor, made the first personal computer, the Altair 8800, possible.

Subdiciplene

Electrical engineering has many sub-disciplines, the most popular of which are listed below. Although there are electrical engineers who focus exclusively on one of these sub-disciplines, many deal with a combination of them. Sometimes certain fields, such as electronic engineering and computer engineering, are considered separate disciplines in their own right.

Power

Power engineering deals with the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity as well as the design of a range of related devices. These include transformers, electric generators, electric motors, high voltage engineering and power electronics. In many regions of the world, governments maintain an electrical network called a power grid that connects a variety of generators together with users of their energy. Users purchase electrical energy from the grid, avoiding the costly exercise of having to generate their own. Power engineers may work on the design and maintenance of the power grid as well as the power systems that connect to it. Such systems are called on-grid power systems and may supply the grid with additional power, draw power from the grid or do both. Power engineers may also work on systems that do not connect to the grid, called off-grid power systems, which in some cases are preferable to on-grid systems. The future includes Satellite controlled power systems, with feedback in real time to prevent power surges and prevent blackouts.

Control

Control engineering focuses on the modeling of a diverse range of dynamic systems and the design of controllers that will cause these systems to behave in the desired manner. To implement such controllers electrical engineers may use electrical circuits, digital signal processors, microcontrollers and PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers). Control engineering has a wide range of applications from the flight and propulsion systems of commercial airliners to the cruise control present in many modern automobiles. It also plays an important role in industrial automation.

Control engineers often utilize feedback when designing control systems. For example, in an automobile with cruise control the vehicle's speed is continuously monitored and fed back to the system which adjusts the motor's power output accordingly. Where there is regular feedback, control theory can be used to determine how the system responds to such feedback.

Electronics

Electronic engineering involves the design and testing of electronic circuits that use the properties of components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes and transistors to achieve a particular functionality. The tuned circuit, which allows the user of a radio to filter out all but a single station, is just one example of such a circuit. Another example (of a pneumatic signal conditioner) is shown in the adjacent photograph.

Prior to the second world war, the subject was commonly known as radio engineering and basically was restricted to aspects of communications and radar, commercial radio and early television. Later, in post war years, as consumer devices began to be developed, the field grew to include modern television, audio systems, computers and microprocessors. In the mid to late 1950s, the term radio engineering gradually gave way to the name electronic engineering.

Before the invention of the integrated circuit in 1959, electronic circuits were constructed from discrete components that could be manipulated by humans. These discrete circuits consumed much space and power and were limited in speed, although they are still common in some applications. By contrast, integrated circuits packed a large number—often millions—of tiny electrical components, mainly transistors, into a small chip around the size of a coin. This allowed for the powerful computers and other electronic devices we see today.

Microelectronics

Microelectronics engineering deals with the design and microfabrication of very small electronic circuit components for use in an integrated circuit or sometimes for use on their own as a general electronic component. The most common microelectronic components are semiconductor transistors, although all main electronic components (resistors, capacitors, inductors) can be created at a microscopic level.

Microelectronic components are created by chemically fabricating wafers of semiconductors such as silicon (at higher frequencies, compound semiconductors like gallium arsenide and indium phosphide) to obtain the desired transport of electronic charge and control of current. The field of microelectronics involves a significant amount of chemistry and material science and requires the electronic engineer working in the field to have a very good working knowledge of the effects of quantum mechanics.

Signal processing

Signal processing deals with the analysis and manipulation of signals. Signals can be either analog, in which case the signal varies continuously according to the information, or digital, in which case the signal varies according to a series of discrete values representing the information. For analog signals, signal processing may involve the amplification and filtering of audio signals for audio equipment or the modulation and demodulation of signals for telecommunications. For digital signals, signal processing may involve the compression, error detection and error correction of digitally sampled signals.

Signal Processing is a very mathematically oriented and intensive area forming the core of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and it is rapidly expanding with new applications in every field of electrical engineering such as communications, control, radar, TV/Audio/Video engineering, power electronics and bio-medical engineering as many already existing analog systems are replaced with their digital counterparts.

Although in the classical era, analog signal processing only provided a mathematical description of a system to be designed, which is actually implemented by the analog hardware engineers, Digital Signal Processing both provides a mathematical description of the systems to be designed and also actually implements them (either by software programming or by hardware embedding) without much dependency on hardware issues, which exponentiates the importance and success of DSP engineering.

The deep and strong relations between signals and the information they carry makes signal processing equivalent of information processing. Which is the reason why the field finds so many diversified applications. DSP processor ICs are found in every type of modern electronic systems and products including, SDTV | HDTV sets, radios and mobile communication devices, Hi-Fi audio equipments, Dolby noise reduction algorithms, GSM mobile phones, mp3 multimedia players, camcorders and digital cameras, automobile control systems, noise cancelling headphones, digital spectrum analyzers, intelligent missile guidance, radar, GPS based cruise control systems and all kinds of image processing, video processing, audio processing and speech processing systems.

Telecommunications

Telecommunications engineering focuses on the transmission of information across a channel such as a coax cable, optical fiber or free space. Transmissions across free space require information to be encoded in a carrier wave in order to shift the information to a carrier frequency suitable for transmission, this is known as modulation. Popular analog modulation techniques include amplitude modulation and frequency modulation. The choice of modulation affects the cost and performance of a system and these two factors must be balanced carefully by the engineer.

Once the transmission characteristics of a system are determined, telecommunication engineers design the transmitters and receivers needed for such systems. These two are sometimes combined to form a two-way communication device known as a transceiver. A key consideration in the design of transmitters is their power consumption as this is closely related to their signal strength. If the signal strength of a transmitter is insufficient the signal's information will be corrupted by noise.

Instrumentation

Instrumentation engineering deals with the design of devices to measure physical quantities such as pressure, flow and temperature. The design of such instrumentation requires a good understanding of physics that often extends beyond electromagnetic theory. For example, radar guns use the Doppler effect to measure the speed of oncoming vehicles. Similarly, thermocouples use the Peltier-Seebeck effect to measure the temperature difference between two points.

Often instrumentation is not used by itself, but instead as the sensors of larger electrical systems. For example, a thermocouple might be used to help ensure a furnace's temperature remains constant. For this reason, instrumentation engineering is often viewed as the counterpart of control engineering.

Computers

Computer engineering deals with the design of computers and computer systems. This may involve the design of new hardware, the design of PDAs or the use of computers to control an industrial plant. Computer engineers may also work on a system's software. However, the design of complex software systems is often the domain of software engineering, which is usually considered a separate discipline. Desktop computers represent a tiny fraction of the devices a computer engineer might work on, as computer-like architectures are now found in a range of devices including video game consoles and DVD players.

Mechatronics is an engineering discipline which deals with the convergence of electrical and mechanical systems. Such combined systems are known as electromechanical systems and have widespread adoption. Examples include automated manufacturing systems, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and various subsystems of aircraft and automobiles.

The term mechatronics is typically used to refer to macroscopic systems but futurists have predicted the emergence of very small electromechanical devices. Already such small devices, known as micro electromechanical systems (MEMS), are used in automobiles to tell airbags when to deploy, in digital projectors to create sharper images and in inkjet printers to create nozzles for high definition printing. In the future it is hoped the devices will help build tiny implantable medical devices and improve optical communication.

Biomedical engineering is another related discipline, concerned with the design of medical equipment. This includes fixed equipment such as ventilators, MRI scanners and electrocardiograph monitors as well as mobile equipment such as cochlear implants, artificial pacemakers and artificial hearts.

souce : wikipedia

Civil Engineering

Termology

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works such as bridges, roads, canals, dams and buildings.Civil engineering is the oldest engineering discipline after military engineering,and it was defined to distinguish non-military engineering from military engineering.It is traditionally broken into several sub-disciplines including environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, municipal or urban engineering, water resources engineering, materials engineering, coastal engineering, surveying, and construction engineering.Civil engineering takes place on all levels: in the public sector from municipal through to federal levels, and in the private sector from individual homeowners through to international companies.

History of Civil Engineering

Engineering has been an aspect of life since the beginnings of human existence. Civil engineering might be considered properly commencing between 4000 and 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia when humans started to abandon a nomadic existence, thus causing a need for the construction of shelter. During this time, transportation became increasingly important leading to the development of the wheel and sailing. The construction of Pyramids in Egypt (circa 2700-2500 BC) might be considered the first instances of large structure constructions. Other ancient historic civil engineering constructions include the Parthenon by Iktinos in Ancient Greece (447-438 BC), the Appian Way by Roman engineers (c. 312 BC), and the Great Wall of China by General Meng T'ien under orders from Ch'in Emperor Shih Huang Ti (c. 220 BC).The Romans developed civil structures throughout their empire, including especially aqueducts, insulae, harbours, bridges, dams and roads.
Until modern times there was no clear distinction between civil engineering and architecture, and the term engineer and architect were mainly geographical variations referring to the same person, often used interchangeably.In the 18th century, the term civil engineering began to be used to distinguish it from military engineering.

The first self-proclaimed civil engineer was John Smeaton who constructed the Eddystone Lighthouse.In 1771 Smeaton and some of his colleagues formed the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers, a group of leaders of the profession who met informally over dinner. Though there was evidence of some technical meetings, it was little more than a social society.

In 1818 the Institution of Civil Engineers was founded in London, and in 1820 the eminent engineer Thomas Telford became its first president. The institution received a Royal Charter in 1828, formally recognising civil engineering as a profession. Its charter defined civil engineering as the art of directing the great sources of power in nature for the use and convenience of man, as the means of production and of traffic in states, both for external and internal trade, as applied in the construction of roads, bridges, aqueducts, canals, river navigation and docks for internal intercourse and exchange, and in the construction of ports, harbours, moles, breakwaters and lighthouses, and in the art of navigation by artificial power for the purposes of commerce, and in the construction and application of machinery, and in the drainage of cities and towns.

The first private college to teach Civil Engineering in the United States was Norwich University founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge.The first degree in Civil Engineering in the United States was awarded by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1835.The first such degree to be awarded to a woman was granted by Cornell University to Nora Stanton Blatch in 1905.

Civil engineering is the application of physical and scientific principles, and its history is intricately linked to advances in understanding of physics and mathematics throughout history. Because civil engineering is a wide ranging profession, including several separate specialized sub-disciplines, its history is linked to knowledge of structures, materials science, geography, geology, soils, hydrology, environment, mechanics and other fields.

Throughout ancient and medieval history most architectural design and construction was carried out by artisans, such as stone masons and carpenters, rising to the role of master builder. Knowledge was retained in guilds and seldom supplanted by advances. Structures, roads and infrastructure that existed were repetitive, and increases in scale were incremental.

One of the earliest examples of a scientific approach to physical and mathematical problems applicable to civil engineering is the work of Archimedes in the 3rd century BC, including Archimedes Principle, which underpins our understanding of buoyancy, and practical solutions such as Archimedes' screw. Brahmagupta, an Indian mathematician, used arithmetic in the 7th century AD, based on Hindu-Arabic numerals, for excavation (volume) computations.

Subfield

In general, civil engineering is concerned with the overall interface of human created fixed projects with the greater world. General civil engineers work closely with surveyors and specialized civil engineers to fit and serve fixed projects within their given site, community and terrain by designing grading, drainage, pavement, water supply, sewer service, electric and communications supply, and land divisions. General engineers spend much of their time visiting project sites, developing community consensus, and preparing construction plans. General civil engineering is also referred to as site engineering, a branch of civil engineering that primarily focuses on converting a tract of land from one usage to another. Civil engineers typically apply the principles of geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, environmental engineering, transportation engineering and construction engineering to residential, commercial, industrial and public works projects of all sizes and levels of construction.

Coastal engineering

Coastal engineering is concerned with managing coastal areas. In some jurisdictions the terms sea defense and coastal protection are used to mean, respectively, defence against flooding and erosion. The term coastal defence is the more traditional term, but coastal management has become more popular as the field has expanded to include techniques that allow erosion to claim land.

Construction engineering

Construction engineering involves planning and execution of the designs from transportation, site development, hydraulic, environmental, structural and geotechnical engineers. As construction firms tend to have higher business risk than other types of civil engineering firms, many construction engineers tend to take on a role that is more business-like in nature: drafting and reviewing contracts, evaluating logistical operations, and closely-monitoring prices of necessary supplies.

Earthquake engineering

Earthquake engineering covers ability of various structures to withstand hazardous earthquake exposures at the sites of their particular location.

Earthquake engineering is a sub discipline of the broader category of Structural engineering. The main objectives of earthquake engineering are:

Understand interaction of structures with the shaky ground.
Foresee the consequences of possible earthquakes.
Design, construct and maintain structures to perform at earthquake exposure up to the expectations and in compliance with building codes.
Earthquake engineering structure does not necessarily mean extremely strong or expensive, Now, the most powerful and budgetary tool in earthquake engineering is base isolation which pertains to the passive structural vibration control technologies.

Environmental engineering

Environmental engineering deals with the treatment of chemical, biological, and/or thermal waste, the purification of water and air, and the remediation of contaminated sites, due to prior waste disposal or accidental contamination. Among the topics covered by environmental engineering are pollutant transport, water purification, waste water treatment, air pollution, solid waste treatment and hazardous waste management. Environmental engineers can be involved with pollution reduction, green engineering, and industrial ecology. Environmental engineering also deals with the gathering of information on the environmental consequences of proposed actions and the assessment of effects of proposed actions for the purpose of assisting society and policy makers in the decision making process.

Environmental engineering is the contemporary term for sanitary engineering, though sanitary engineering traditionally had not included much of the hazardous waste management and environmental remediation work covered by the term environmental engineering. Some other terms in use are public health engineering and environmental health engineering.

Geotechnical engineering

Geotechnical engineering is an area of civil engineering concerned with the rock and soil that civil engineering systems are supported by. Knowledge from the fields of geology, material science and testing, mechanics, and hydraulics are applied by geotechnical engineers to safely and economically design foundations, retaining walls, and similar structures. Environmental concerns in relation to groundwater and waste disposal have spawned a new area of study called geoenvironmental engineering where biology and chemistry are important.

Some of the unique difficulties of geotechnical engineering are the result of the variability and properties of soil. Boundary conditions are often well defined in other branches of civil engineering, but with soil, clearly defining these conditions can be impossible. The material properties and behavior of soil are also difficult to predict due to the variability of soil and limited investigation. This contrasts with the relatively well defined material properties of steel and concrete used in other areas of civil engineering. Soil mechanics, which define the behavior of soil, is complex due to stress-dependent material properties such as volume change, stress–strain relationship, and strength.

Water resources engineering

Water resources engineering is concerned with the collection and management of water (as a natural resource). As a discipline it therefore combines hydrology, environmental science, meteorology, geology, conservation, and resource management. This area of civil engineering relates to the prediction and management of both the quality and the quantity of water in both underground (aquifers) and above ground (lakes, rivers, and streams) resources. Water resource engineers analyze and model very small to very large areas of the earth to predict the amount and content of water as it flows into, through, or out of a facility. Although the actual design of the facility may be left to other engineers. Hydraulic engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water. This area of civil engineering is intimately related to the design of pipelines, water distribution systems, drainage facilities (including bridges, dams, channels, culverts, levees, storm sewers), and canals. Hydraulic engineers design these facilities using the concepts of fluid pressure, fluid statics, fluid dynamics, and hydraulics, among others.

Materials engineering

Another aspect of Civil engineering is materials science. Material engineering deals with ceramics such as concrete, mix asphalt concrete, metals Focus around increased strength, metals such as aluminum and steel, and polymers such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and carbon fibers.

Structural engineering

Structural engineering is concerned with the structural design and structural analysis of buildings, bridges, towers, flyovers, tunnels, off shore structures like oil and gas fields in the sea, and other structures. This involves identifying the loads which act upon a structure and the forces and stresses which arise within that structure due to those loads, and then designing the structure to successfully support and resist those loads. The loads can be self weight of the structures, other dead load, live loads, moving (wheel) load, wind load, earthquake load, load from temperature change etc. The structural engineer must design structures to be safe for their users and to successfully fulfill the function they are designed for (to be serviceable). Due to the nature of some loading conditions, sub-disciplines within structural engineering have emerged, including wind engineering and earthquake engineering.

Design considerations will include strength, stiffness, and stability of the structure when subjected to loads which may be static, such as furniture or self-weight, or dynamic, such as wind, seismic, crowd or vehicle loads, or transitory, such as temporary construction loads or impact. Other considerations include cost, constructability, safety, aesthetics and sustainability.

Surveying

Surveying is the process by which a surveyor measures certain dimensions that generally occur on the surface of the Earth. Surveying equipment, such as levels and theodolites, are used for accurate measurement of angular deviation, horizontal, vertical and slope distances. With computerisation, electronic distance measurement (EDM), total stations, GPS surveying and laser scanning have supplemented (and to a large extent supplanted) the traditional optical instruments. This information is crucial to convert the data into a graphical representation of the Earth's surface, in the form of a map. This information is then used by civil engineers, contractors and even realtors to design from, build on, and trade, respectively. Elements of a building or structure must be correctly sized and positioned in relation to each other and to site boundaries and adjacent structures. Although surveying is a distinct profession with separate qualifications and licensing arrangements, civil engineers are trained in the basics of surveying and mapping, as well as geographic information systems. Surveyors may also lay out the routes of railways, tramway tracks, highways, roads, pipelines and streets as well as position other infrastructures, such as harbors, before construction.

Land Surveying

In the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and most Commonwealth countries land surveying is considered to be a distinct profession. Land surveyors are not considered to be engineers, and have their own professional associations and licencing requirements. The services of a licenced land surveyor are generally required for boundary surveys (to establish the boundaries of a parcel using its legal description) and subdivision plans (a plot or map based on a survey of a parcel of land, with boundary lines drawn inside the larger parcel to indicated the creation of new boundary lines and roads).

Construction Surveying

Construction surveying is generally performed by specialised technicians. Unlike land surveyors, the resulting plan does not have legal status. Construction surveyors perform the following tasks:
Survey existing conditions of the future work site, including topography, existing buildings and infrastructure, and even including underground infrastructure whenever possible;
Construction surveying (otherwise "lay-out" or "setting-out"): to stake out reference points and markers that will guide the construction of new structures such as roads or buildings for subsequent construction;
Verify the location of structures during construction;
As-Built surveying: a survey conducted at the end of the construction project to verify that the work authorized was completed to the specifications set on plans.

Transportation engineering

Transportation engineering is concerned with moving people and goods efficiently, safely, and in a manner conducive to a vibrant community. This involves specifying, designing, constructing, and maintaining transportation infrastructure which includes streets, canals, highways, rail systems, airports, ports, and mass transit. It includes areas such as transportation design, transportation planning, traffic engineering, some aspects of urban engineering, queueing theory, pavement engineering, Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), and infrastructure management.

Municipal or urban engineering

Municipal engineering is concerned with municipal infrastructure. This involves specifying, designing, constructing, and maintaining streets, sidewalks, water supply networks, sewers, street lighting, municipal solid waste management and disposal, storage depots for various bulk materials used for maintenance and public works (salt, sand, etc), public parks and bicycle paths. In the case of underground utility networks, it may also include the civil portion (conduits and access chambers) of the local distribution networks of electrical and telecommunications services. It can also include the optimizing of garbage collection and bus service networks. Some of these disciplines overlap with other civil engineering specialties, however municipal engineering focuses on the coordination of these infrastructure networks and services, as they are often built simultaneously, and managed by the same municipal authority.

source : wikipedia

Mechanical Engineering

Termology

Mechanical Engineering is an engineering discipline that was developed from the application of principles from physics and materials science. Mechanical engineering involves the analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of various systems. It is one of the oldest and broadest engineering disciplines.

The field requires a solid understanding of core concepts including mechanics, kinematics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, materials science, and energy. Mechanical engineers use the core principles as well as other knowledge in the field to design and analyze manufacturing plants, industrial equipment and machinery, heating and cooling systems, motor vehicles, aircraft, watercraft, robotics, medical devices and more.

Development

Applications of mechanical engineering are found in the records of many ancient and medieval societies throughout the globe. In ancient Greece, the works of Archimedes (287 BC–212 BC) and Heron of Alexandria (c. 10–70 AD) deeply influenced mechanics in the Western tradition. In China, Zhang Heng (78–139 AD) improved a water clock and invented a seismometer, and Ma Jun (200–265 AD) invented a chariot with differential gears. The medieval Chinese horologist and engineer Su Song (1020–1101 AD) incorporated an escapement mechanism into his astronomical clock tower two centuries before any escapement could be found in clocks of medieval Europe, as well as the world's first known endless power-transmitting chain drive.

During the years from 7th to 15th century, the era called the Islamic golden age, there have been remarkable contributions from Muslims in the field of mechanical technology, Al Jaziri, who was one of them wrote his famous "Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices" in 1206 presented many mechanical designs. He is also considered to be the inventor of such mechanical devices which now form the very basic of mechanisms, such as crank and cam shafts.During the early 19th century in England and Scotland, the development of machine tools led mechanical engineering to develop as a separate field within engineering, providing manufacturing machines and the engines to power them.

The first British professional society of mechanical engineers was formed in 1847, thirty years after civil engineers formed the first such professional society.In the United States, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) was formed in 1880, becoming the third such professional engineering society, after the American Society of Civil Engineers (1852) and the American Institute of Mining Engineers (1871).The first schools in the United States to offer an engineering education were the United States Military Academy in 1817, an institution now known as Norwich University in 1819, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1825. Education in mechanical engineering has historically been based on a strong foundation in mathematics and science.The field of mechanical engineering is considered among the broadest of engineering disciplines. The work of mechanical engineering ranges from the depths of the ocean to outer space.

Subfield

The field of mechanical engineering can be thought of as a collection of many mechanical disciplines. Several of these subdisciplines which are typically taught at the undergraduate level are listed below, with a brief explanation and the most common application of each. Some of these subdisciplines are unique to mechanical engineering, while others are a combination of mechanical engineering and one or more other disciplines. Most work that a mechanical engineer does uses skills and techniques from several of these subdisciplines, as well as specialized subdisciplines. Specialized subdisciplines, as used in this article, are more likely to be the subject of graduate studies or on-the-job training than undergraduate research. Several specialized subdisciplines are discussed at the end of this section.

Mechanics

Mohr's circle, a common tool to study stresses in a mechanical element
Mechanics is, in the most general sense, the study of forces and their effect upon matter. Typically, engineering mechanics is used to analyze and predict the acceleration and deformation (both elastic and plastic) of objects under known forces (also called loads) or stresses.

Subdisciplines of mechanics include

Statics, the study of non-moving bodies under known loads
Dynamics (or kinetics), the study of how forces affect moving bodies
Mechanics of materials, the study of how different materials deform under various types of stress
Fluid mechanics, the study of how fluids react to forces[19]
Continuum mechanics, a method of applying mechanics that assumes that objects are continuous (rather than discrete)

Mechanical engineers typically use mechanics in the design or analysis phases of engineering. If the engineering project were the design of a vehicle, statics might be employed to design the frame of the vehicle, in order to evaluate where the stresses will be most intense. Dynamics might be used when designing the car's engine, to evaluate the forces in the pistons and cams as the engine cycles. Mechanics of materials might be used to choose appropriate materials for the frame and engine. Fluid mechanics might be used to design a ventilation system for the vehicle (see HVAC), or to design the intake system for the engine.

Kinematics

Kinematics is the study of the motion of bodies (objects) and systems (groups of objects), while ignoring the forces that cause the motion. The movement of a crane and the oscillations of a piston in an engine are both simple kinematic systems. The crane is a type of open kinematic chain, while the piston is part of a closed four bar linkage.
Mechanical engineers typically use kinematics in the design and analysis of mechanisms. Kinematics can be used to find the possible range of motion for a given mechanism, or, working in reverse, can be used to design a mechanism that has a desired range of motion.

Mechatronics and robotics

Training FMS with learning robot SCORBOT-ER 4u, workbench CNC Mill and CNC Lathe
Mechatronics is an interdisciplinary branch of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and software engineering that is concerned with integrating electrical and mechanical engineering to create hybrid systems. In this way, machines can be automated through the use of electric motors, servo-mechanisms, and other electrical systems in conjunction with special software. A common example of a mechatronics system is a CD-ROM drive. Mechanical systems open and close the drive, spin the CD and move the laser, while an optical system reads the data on the CD and converts it to bits. Integrated software controls the process and communicates the contents of the CD to the computer.

Robotics is the application of mechatronics to create robots, which are often used in industry to perform tasks that are dangerous, unpleasant, or repetitive. These robots may be of any shape and size, but all are preprogrammed and interact physically with the world. To create a robot, an engineer typically employs kinematics (to determine the robot's range of motion) and mechanics (to determine the stresses within the robot).

Robots are used extensively in industrial engineering. They allow businesses to save money on labor, perform tasks that are either too dangerous or too precise for humans to perform them economically, and to insure better quality. Many companies employ assembly lines of robots, and some factories are so robotized that they can run by themselves. Outside the factory, robots have been employed in bomb disposal, space exploration, and many other fields. Robots are also sold for various residential applications.

Structural analysis

Structural analysis is the branch of mechanical engineering (and also civil engineering) devoted to examining why and how objects fail. Structural failures occur in two general modes: static failure, and fatigue failure. Static structural failure occurs when, upon being loaded (having a force applied) the object being analyzed either breaks or is deformed plastically, depending on the criterion for failure. Fatigue failure occurs when an object fails after a number of repeated loading and unloading cycles. Fatigue failure occurs because of imperfections in the object: a microscopic crack on the surface of the object, for instance, will grow slightly with each cycle (propagation) until the crack is large enough to cause ultimate failure.

Failure is not simply defined as when a part breaks, however; it is defined as when a part does not operate as intended. Some systems, such as the perforated top sections of some plastic bags, are designed to break. If these systems do not break, failure analysis might be employed to determine the cause.

Structural analysis is often used by mechanical engineers after a failure has occurred, or when designing to prevent failure. Engineers often use online documents and books such as those published by ASM to aid them in determining the type of failure and possible causes.
Structural analysis may be used in the office when designing parts, in the field to analyze failed parts, or in laboratories where parts might undergo controlled failure tests.

Thermodynamics and thermo-science

Thermodynamics is an applied science used in several branches of engineering, including mechanical and chemical engineering. At its simplest, thermodynamics is the study of energy, its use and transformation through a system. Typically, engineering thermodynamics is concerned with changing energy from one form to another. As an example, automotive engines convert chemical energy (enthalpy) from the fuel into heat, and then into mechanical work that eventually turns the wheels.

Thermodynamics principles are used by mechanical engineers in the fields of heat transfer, thermofluids, and energy conversion. Mechanical engineers use thermo-science to design engines and power plants, heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, heat exchangers, heat sinks, radiators, refrigeration, insulation, and others.

Drafting

A CAD model of a mechanical double seal Drafting or technical drawing is the means by which mechanical engineers create instructions for manufacturing parts. A technical drawing can be a computer model or hand-drawn schematic showing all the dimensions necessary to manufacture a part, as well as assembly notes, a list of required materials, and other pertinent information. A U.S. mechanical engineer or skilled worker who creates technical drawings may be referred to as a drafter or draftsman. Drafting has historically been a two-dimensional process, but computer-aided design (CAD) programs now allow the designer to create in three dimensions.
Instructions for manufacturing a part must be fed to the necessary machinery, either manually, through programmed instructions, or through the use of a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) or combined CAD/CAM program. Optionally, an engineer may also manually manufacture a part using the technical drawings, but this is becoming an increasing rarity, with the advent of computer numerically controlled (CNC) manufacturing. Engineers primarily manually manufacture parts in the areas of applied spray coatings, finishes, and other processes that cannot economically or practically be done by a machine.

Drafting is used in nearly every subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, and by many other branches of engineering and architecture. Three-dimensional models created using CAD software are also commonly used in finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

Frontiers of research

Mechanical engineers are constantly pushing the boundaries of what is physically possible in order to produce safer, cheaper, and more efficient machines and mechanical systems. Some technologies at the cutting edge of mechanical engineering are listed below .

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS)

Micron-scale mechanical components such as springs, gears, fluidic and heat transfer devices are fabricated from a variety of substrate materials such as silicon, glass and polymers like SU8. Examples of MEMS components will be the accelerometers that are used as car airbag sensors, gyroscopes for precise positioning and microfluidic devices used in biomedical applications.

Composites

Composite cloth consisting of woven carbon fiber.

Composites or composite materials are a combination of materials which provide different physical characteristics than either material separately. Composite material research within mechanical engineering typically focuses on designing (and, subsequently, finding applications for) stronger or more rigid materials while attempting to reduce weight, susceptibility to corrosion, and other undesirable factors. Carbon fiber reinforced composites, for instance, have been used in such diverse applications as spacecraft and fishing rods.

Mechatronics

Mechatronics is the synergistic combination of mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, and software engineering. The purpose of this interdisciplinary engineering field is the study of automata from an engineering perspective and serves the purposes of controlling advanced hybrid systems.

Nanotechnology

At the smallest scales, mechanical engineering becomes nanotechnology and molecular engineering—one speculative goal of which is to create a molecular assembler to build molecules and materials via mechanosynthesis. For now that goal remains within exploratory engineering.

Finite Element Analysis

This field is not new, as the basis of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) or Finite Element Method (FEM) dates back to 1941. But evolution of computers has made FEM a viable option for analysis of structural problems. Many commercial codes such as ANSYS, Nastran and ABAQUS are widely used in industry for research and design of components.Other techniques such as Finite Difference Method (FDM) and Finite Volume Method (FVM) are employed to solve problems relating heat and mass transfer, fluid flows, fluid surface interaction etc.

source : wikipedia